Loyola at a Glance

Loyola volleyball goes 2-0 to finish Hampton Inn Wolfpack Classic

The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team won both matches on Oct. 10, wrapping up the Hampton Inn Wolfpack Classic with a 3-1 record.

In the first match, Loyola avenged the previous night’s loss as they swept the University of St. Thomas in three games (25-23, 25-23, 25-20).

St. Thomas (12-8) grabbed an early lead in the first set before Loyola’s Samantha Worsham served two aces to cut the lead to 12-10. Loyola finally grabbed the lead, 23-22, on a kill by sophomore Gina Gill. Gill then gave the Wolfpack the 25-23 win with her fifth kill of the set.

In the second game, Rachael Roth broke a 9-9 tie with an ace, and Loyola held on to the lead the rest of the way. A kill by Roth gave the Wolfpack their largest lead, 22-17, and then a kill by Kailey Tuthill finished off the set at 25-23.

The Lady Celts came out in the third game and went up 5-1 before a timeout by Loyola. Down 6-2, Loyola’s Amanda Oldani shifted the momentum by serving three consecutive aces. With the game knotted at 18’s, Loyola outscored St. Thomas 7-2, with Worsham sneaking over a kill to take the match.

Gill led Loyola with 12 kills. Roth and Lindsay Mullinix had eight kills each. Ashley England finished with six kills and Tuthill added six more. Worsham closed out the match with 37 assists and three aces. Amanda Oldani led in digs with 14 while serving four aces.

In the final match of the classic, Loyola needed four games to put away Lincoln Christian University, who defeated St. Thomas 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16) earlier in the day’s first contest.

In the first game, Loyola’s Roth delivered one of her team high 17 kills to break a 13-13 tie. The Wolfpack kept a slight lead the rest of the way and went on to win 25-21.

The Red Lions (16-6) went up 5-0 early in the second set, and continued to look impressive as they extended their lead to 21-14. The Wolfpack tried to mount a comeback, but Lincoln Christian evened the match with a 25-19 victory.

In the third set, a kill by Ashley England gave Loyola an 11-6 advantage. An ace by Gill, who also finished the match with 17 kills, increased to lead to seven at 20-13, and the Wolfpack went on to take the game 25-21.

The fourth set was back and forth in the beginning, then St. Thomas took a three point lead at 15-12. After an ace by Oldani, Ashley Abenschein tied the game at 18-18 with a kill. The Wolfpack recaptured the lead on a kill by Worsham bringing the score to 24-23. The Red Lions kept fighting until a block by Lindsay Mullinix and England ended the match at 30-28.

Along with leading in kills with 17, Gill and Roth also had three aces each, while Worsham assisted on 34 Wolfpack points.

Loyola volleyball (12-8) returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 20, when they head to Jackson, Miss., for a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference match against Belhaven at 7 p.m. The Wolfpack opened up their 10-game home stand with a 3-2 win on Sept. 22 over the Lady Blazers.

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